Electron-impact excitation cross sections from the xenon J=2 metastable level

Cross sections for electron-impact excitation from the 5p⁵6s J=2 metastable level of xenon to the lowest six levels of the 5p⁵6p configuration have been measured. The cross sections generally have very large magnitudes (10⁻¹⁵ cm²) and scale with the corresponding optical oscillator strengths. The substantial variations observed in the energy dependence of the cross sections for the six levels can also be related to the optical oscillator strengths. Cross sections for excitation out of the J=2 metastable level into the upper four levels of the 5p⁵6p configuration are much smaller. The large disparity in cross sections between the upper and lower groups is explained in terms of the electronic structure of the excited states of xenon.